Iryna Iudina grew up in a small mining town in Eastern Ukraine with dreams to one day move out. One day on a bus tour to France,  which she describes as a flight to the moon, she encounters her first culture-shock experience: kind, polite, and smiling people, saying "bonjour" for no reason other than to say hello, confirming her beliefs that somewhere in the world existed a better quality of life, with different people and different experiences. She studied English and French majoring in linguistics, translation and interpreting, with the hopes of one day becoming a language interpreter. Now a Certified Court and a Medical Interpreter, in addition to working in other fields such as Immigration and Refugees, Police, Bank & Finance, Government, Education & Training, Social Services, and Housing, Iryna  lives in Canada and enjoys see the world in multicolor.   In this episode, Iryna shares her interpreter journey and experiences. She shares with us the  lack of interpreter training opportunities she experienced but through endurance, a burning desire for being an interpreter, and self training, she persevered. Tune in to listen more about Iryna Iudina’s story. Only on the Podcast that brings you your stories about our profession. Brand The Interpreter! -------------------------------------------- Connect with Mireya Pérez, Host www.brandtheinterpreter.com Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram ----------------------------------------------- Connect with Iryna Iudina LinkedIn ---------------------------------------------- SPONSOR INFORMATION The Orange County Department of Education's Language Services Division  is delighted to welcome you to the 6th Annual Interpreters and Translators Hybrid Conference, Language Access for ALL! Education Leaders, Interpreters, Translators: We are Stronger Together. Interpreters and translators working in the K-12 system are more visible than ever becoming a substantial part of every educational encounter. Ensuring language access in our community is our priority. Join us September 22, 2022 through September 24, 2022, to continue your professional learning! Breakout Sessions on September 22-24 All In-Person Event Activities at OCDE on September 24, 2022 Access to all session recordings on-demand until December 31, 2022 SPACES STILL AVAILABLE! Sign up NOW for our 6th Annual Interpreters and Translators Conference! https://web.cvent.com/event/52a5b9f6-8a79-40c8-9f6b-735af341010a/summary